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September 03, 2003
| William Saletan Skewers John Kerry

Though I think he steps over the line on or twice, Slate's William Saletan does a good job of summing up the problem most people seem to be having with John Kerry: namely, he's a coward. While it may be hard for Kerry to pin down a principled position, Saletan pins down Kerry with gusto:


"I've heard and read about [Kerry's] war record many times. Yet I still stare incredulously every time he talks about it. I can't get a rude but persistent question out of my mind: Can you believe this guy fought in Vietnam?

He did, of course. He's the only candidate in this race who did. He earned the Silver Star and Bronze Star and was wounded three times. I didn't serve in that war (I was, among other things, too young), nor did most of my colleagues in the press. I respect what Kerry did and endured. Still, I look at him and wonder how such a brave warrior became such a cautious politician.
...
While trying to do the right thing, Kerry has always sought to make himself a thinner target. He was for affirmative action, just not this affirmative action. He was for a drug war, just not this drug war. He was for an Iraq war, just not this Iraq war. This is Kerry's nature, and he knows it. He sometimes argues, when pressed about his vote on the war resolution, that most votes in Congress are really 'yes, but' or 'no, but.' In Kerry's case, it's sometimes 'yes' and sometimes 'no.' But it's always 'but.'"

The overriding question I've always had about John Kerry is similar to Saletan's: how can someone behave with such fearlessness in the face of flying bullets and exploding grenades, and such cowardice in the face of a few piddling liberal interest groups?



Posted by David Kenner at September 3, 2003 01:43 PM | TrackBack
Comments

An answer might be found in the simple fact that when you’re under fire by way of war, you tend to become a much different person than when you are under fire by way of words.
I have seen more than a few dweebs, if that’s the right word, whom no one had any high degrees of confidence in, turn into human weapons for the few minutes it takes to earn a shiny new medal, then go back to being dweebs as soon as their adrenalin levels returned to normal. Better respected dweebs, of course.

That said, I think Kerry’s milking his ‘Nam duty ‘way too much. Whether he was a great warrior over there or not, and whether he was a strong leader over there or not, it was thirty years ago, with a lot of politics in the interim.
If I voted democrat, which isn’t even a remote possibility, Kerry would be right down there with the reverend on my list of eligible chads.
You can’t run a great nation from atop a fence and expect anything other than disaster.

Posted by: wolf at September 3, 2003 03:17 PM

That link is broken.

Posted by: Mark Buehner at September 3, 2003 03:39 PM

Fixed — sorry, I’m an idiot.

Posted by: David Kenner at September 3, 2003 07:28 PM

There are questions worth asking about Kerry’s military service. His most “heroic” act, by most accounts, was taking the boat he commanded straight into an ambush, guns blazing, when other boat commanders pulled back. Some call it heroic, others might say he was reckless and got lucky that things didn’t turn out badly for him and his crew.

Also, regarding his 3 purple hearts— the 3 injuries involved were extremely minor, causing him to miss a total of 2 days of duty. And on top of that, he used those 3 injuries as an excuse to request an early transfer out of combat, to a stateside job.

John Kerry is no more a hero than any of the tens of thousands of others that served in Viet Nam, and I’m still trying to figure out why having served in Nam makes him ANY more qualified than anyone else to be President.

Posted by: dave at September 4, 2003 02:33 PM

two words,
silver star

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Posted by: ali at November 15, 2003 08:48 AM

Describing is not knowing.

Posted by: Badanes Matt at December 10, 2003 06:03 PM

Conservatives amaze me with their shallowness. You mention “piddling liberal interest groups” yet you are blind to the many aggressive conservative interest groups, namely oil, coal, and defense contractors.

Your idea of a “strong foreign policy” consists soley of bombing the hell out of poor people over seas.

You accuse Kerry of being a coward when he was in Veitnam, then you claim Bush as your hero for going AWOL.

You are blind to the fact that, aside from vapid platitudes, the best thing that Bush can use in his reelection ads is the worst thing that’s ever happened to our country.

You’re a bunch of sick bastards, you conservatives.

Posted by: Rougy at March 7, 2004 12:39 PM

Talk about sick bastards, that’s what democrates are all about, no morals, anythings goes. What does that say about the party? when they stand behind anybody that would include the devil himself when they try to win back the white house.

I bet if they really looked into John Kerry’s war record, he’s no true hero, true heros don’t go around talking about their medals and how brave they are. If Kerry wins, God forbid, this country is done for.

Posted by: Billy D at March 14, 2004 05:49 PM

Talk about sick bastards, that’s what democrates are all about, no morals, anythings goes. What does that say about the party? when they stand behind anybody that would include the devil himself when they try to win back the white house.

I bet if they really looked into John Kerry’s war record, he’s no true hero, true heros don’t go around talking about their medals and how brave they are. If Kerry wins, God forbid, this country is done for.

Posted by: Billy D at March 14, 2004 05:49 PM

Talk about sick bastards, that’s what democrates are all about, no morals, anythings goes. What does that say about the party? when they stand behind anybody that would include the devil himself when they try to win back the white house.

I bet if they really looked into John Kerry’s war record, he’s no true hero, true heros don’t go around talking about their medals and how brave they are. If Kerry wins, God forbid, this country is done for.

Posted by: Billy D at March 14, 2004 05:50 PM

Talk about sick bastards, that’s what democrates are all about, no morals, anythings goes. What does that say about the party? when they stand behind anybody that would include the devil himself when they try to win back the white house.

I bet if they really looked into John Kerry’s war record, he’s no true hero, true heros don’t go around talking about their medals and how brave they are. If Kerry wins, God forbid, this country is done for.

Posted by: Billy D at March 14, 2004 05:51 PM

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